Kentucky Preparing for Tennessee Tech like it's an SEC Foe

The Kentucky offensive line leads the way for Seth McGowan against Florida, via Dr. Michael Huang, KSR

Games against FCS foes late in the season present unique challenges. It can be hard to get up for a no-name opponent in November. It can lead to a near-disaster. In 2016, Luke Wright started at quarterback for Kentucky, and the Wildcats found themselves down 14-0 before their second offensive snap.

Tennessee Tech is unlike most FCS foes. They’re damn good. The sword cuts both ways. It’s not ideal to play an undefeated foe, but that ensures the Wildcats will not be overlooking this opponent.

“When you’re undefeated, it says a lot. You know how to win,” Mark Stoops said earlier this week. “These guys have done that; it’s a credit to them. It should get our team’s attention.”

Tennessee Tech has the best rush defense in the FCS and ranks in the top five in scoring, allowing just 15.3 points per game.

“They play a good brand of ball,” said quarterback Cutter Boley. “We gotta come in here and do our job, handle business, and treat them like another SEC opponent. They’re a good ball club and we’re going to come in and play our ball, just stick to our game.”

Kentucky has played its best football over the last month. A bowl game is now within reach. It could be easy to get caught up in the hype, but that’s not where Jager Burton‘s focus is ahead of his final game at Kroger Field.

“These guys have a great football team. If you turn on the tape and watch it, they’re not the typical team that everybody thinks when they see that (FCS) stuff,” said the Kentucky offensive lineman.

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“They’re 10-0, haven’t lost a game in a long time. They play together well, have a lot of old guys that rally to the football. They have a great scheme. We’re preparing the same as we did for Florida, Georgia; I mean, this is a great football team.”

Part of that preparation is to know what is happening on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The other part is keeping the focus on Kentucky. It may sound boring, but Stoops has belabored one point often. This is a good practice team. The preparation has manifested in execution on Saturdays, leading to wins. That must remain constant ahead of the season finale at Kroger Field.

“This offense, this team, has gone through a ton of weeks where it’s just about us. We’ve been down in the dumps, not even really focused on what these guys do. We just gotta go to work and really figure who we are out,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.

“I think the approach is no different. This is a talented team. You don’t want to see ’em at this time, absolutely. They’re undefeated for a reason. They’re very good schematically, but for us, on top of how much scheme they do on defense and the movement, we gotta play our game, we gotta stick to our rules, and not allow them to slow us down.”